Chartwell Investment Partners LLC Sells 5,433 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Chartwell Investment Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 26,100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 5,433 shares during the quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Umpqua Bank increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Nvwm LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% in the third quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 11.6% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 357 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 6.1 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $341.74 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $211.76 and a one year high of $344.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $277.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $264.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $326.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.43, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.80.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.